Knezevic: Serbian ski resorts, spas, and the charms of big cities attract more tourists from the region

Miroslav Knezevic, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management at Singidunum University, states that according to research, the key element of travel for tourists is the experience, and that in Serbia, they can find a bit of everything. With top-notch service, he evaluates for Kosovo Online, this makes it attractive both to domestic tourists and those from the region and distant markets.

Knezevic explains that in winter, the most attractive places for tourists are mountain centers and spas, but that the upcoming New Year holidays, which put big cities in the foreground especially for foreign tourists, cannot be overlooked.

"When we say mountain centers, we primarily think of Zlatibor, Kopaonik, and Stara Planina, and when we say spas, the first ones are Vrnjacka Banja and Sokobanja, and then all the others. Among cities, Belgrade is first, followed by Novi Sad, Nis… A large number of foreigners come to spend a few days in our cities and, of course, leave satisfied and smiling back to their homes," says the dean.

He notes that, according to statistics for the previous year and some years before that, the most numerous tourists come from Turkey, the Russian Federation, and the People's Republic of China. As for the neighboring countries, these include Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Slovenia, followed by Romania and Bulgaria.

"For tourists from the surrounding area, Belgrade is synonymous with quality, synonymous with the abundance of different contents, and they very gladly choose to spend the New Year holidays in Belgrade," emphasizes Knezevic. Speaking about spa centers, he estimates that Vrnjacka Banja will be extremely popular this winter.

"According to the information we have from the field from hoteliers themselves, a large number of tourists from Bulgaria have made certain reservations in the hotels of Vrnjacka Banja," he states.

Regarding winter centers, he assesses that Serbia will be attractive not only to the region but also to some distant markets.

"In winter centers this year, we are also seeing tourists from Romania, and there are increasingly more foreigners from some distant markets, so I think that over time we can expect some progress, that we will not only be attractive to the region," the dean believes.

Regarding domestic tourists, he notes, they are increasingly deciding to spend the winter in Serbian mountain centers.

"Traditionally we vacation in Greece, however, we very often decide for areas like the sea during winter, where the climate is a bit warmer. From the countries in the surrounding area, Slovenia is also a very common choice, and this is becoming a continuity. However, as time passes, I have the impression that our tourists are more frequently deciding to spend the winter in our mountain centers, in line with the quality of our tourist offer. At least the results show it, especially in the part of January when there is the most precipitation and when, due to the winter break, families travel with small children," says Knezevic.

He notes that trends on the tourist market change much faster than on other markets.

"What has been very present in the last few years, at least according to tourists according to research by the World Tourism Organization, is that the key element of travel is the experience. And that experience is somewhat a subjective matter," the dean points out. He emphasizes that tourists in Serbia can find a little of everything - rich cultural-historical heritage, intangible cultural heritage, gastronomy, wine tourism, good service in spas, mountain centers, big cities, convention centers…

"Therefore, we have something for every market segment. Depending on some personal affinities, they choose a destination, and there, of course, they encounter primarily exceptionally high-quality service. And I must say, when it comes to our hotel industry, that a fantastic progress has indeed been made, not only in terms of the number of hotels but also qualitatively. When you look at the structure of hotels in our capital or in spa and mountain centers, these are hotels with 4 and 5 stars that match the structure of demand at this moment and that is something that sets us apart and, of course, gives us hope that we will record even better results in the future than today," concludes Knezevic.